Cooley Environmental And Health Group



Positive Mental health

When we hear the term mental health many people think of mental illnesses such as Depression, Schizophrenia, and Bipolar disorder.

Mental health is far more than the absence of mental illness.

We all know that we have to look after our physical health but we often forget that our mental health needs looking after also.

So when we talk about positive mental health we need to recognise that looking after our mental health is important to each and every one of us.

In the presence of a mental health condition this is even more important!!

The good thing is that the mind and the body are intrinsically linked.

One of the most important things in looking after your mental health is to develop a healthy lifestyle.

This has been proven to impact positively on our mental health.

It does no harm to remind ourselves of the simple things we can do.

Diet

There is great wisdom in the old saying ‘you are what you eat’ so eating a diet that is varied, and balanced.

fresh fruit and vegetables,

drinking plenty of water,

avoiding sugary

avoiding processed foods

A healthy and balanced diet can help

enhance your mood

help you feel more energetic.

Alcohol: - reduce intake or stop it can positively affect mental health- alcohol is a depressant and for some more so than others especially if your mood is low. It can also increase anxiety and can cause people to be paranoid.

Sleep

Getting plenty of sleep is vital - problems can escalate due to poor sleep.

We spent over one third of our lives sleeping, it gives our bodies time to repair itself physically and mentally.

We all need different amounts of sleep. Some need 8 hours, others less.

Sleep hygiene - good sleeping habits.

bedroom quiet, comfortable and warm

avoiding caffeine,

regular routine,

listening to some light music or reading a book before retiring

bath before bed

lavender scents

avoiding use of blue screens few hours before bedtime i.e. TV, laptops, ipads, phones

exercise and fresh air

Exercise

There is plenty of research to support regular exercise as vital to positive mental health.

It helps reduce stress and dispel muscle tension.

Exercise can aid sleep, improve self esteem, concentration, memory and increase energy

Build up exercise gradually and check with Gp if any concerns about physical health.

How to motivate yourself to exercise regularly

Invite a friend

arrange to meet someone

make goals for yourself

join a walking/hiking/golf club or gym.

Check your local area to find out what’s happening there.

Social Interaction

Social interaction is important because this is about the relationships we develop that are mutually beneficial and offer support especially in times of stress.

Best way to make friends is to be one.

Spending quality time with families and friends (no phones, ipads, laptops, just sitting down eating meals together, perhaps playing cards, a board game??

Having outside interests like sport, pottery, crochet, photography, learning an instrument etc.

Voluntary work

Committee member or help with fund raising- something simple like stewarding at a race.

Feeling part of something and belonging is beneficial to our self esteem.

Find a group that interests you.

Don’t underestimate humour in our lives, it is essential.

Smiling and laughing have been shown to lift people’s moods.

A problem shared is a problem halved yet another old saying and that in itself is the start of any process for people looking for help. That may be family or friends, local voluntary organisations or helplines like the Samaritans etc. GPs or local services

Stress

Today we lead very stressful lives. We put immense pressure on ourselves.

How do we meet these demands of life and deal with stress?

We have all heard of the fight or flight response i.e. the stress response.

Our bodies deal with stress the same way our ancestors did. They needed a quick burst of energy to fight or flee from predators e.g. tigers.

This stress response prepared them to deal with threat or danger.

The flight or fight response produces a series of biochemical changes

Increasing blood pressure

Increasing heart rate

Increasing breathing rate

muscle tension

Hands and feet become cold (as blood redirected from extremities and digestive system into the larger muscles that can help run or fight)

Any problem imagined or real can initiate this response i.e. imaginary tiger!!

As long as the mind perceives a threat the body remains aroused.

Chronic stress → can affect the immune and inflammatory response.

The same mechanism that turns on stress response can turn it off.

This is the relaxation response. We have all heard sayings and phrases when you got annoyed or frustrated someone might say ‘take a deep breath and count to ten’. E.g. Relaxation and breathing techniques, aerobic exercise etc.

The resilience of the human spirit can stop or delay people from looking for help when experiencing mental health difficulties because that’s our nature.

We try to outlast it and hope it solves itself.

Yet there is still stigma attached to mental health in some parts of society that makes it difficult for people to seek help.

Looking for help is not a weakness but a strength.

I suppose the message is ‘if you don’t look after yourself no one else will’. Sometimes we are not very good at looking after ourselves at all.

We put other things before ourselves.

We get involved in situations that we know are not in our best interests but we do it anyway.

Compassion and kindness to ourselves is key when we look at positive mental health.

Looking after things like your diet, exercise, sleep and social interaction are like the foundations if you like and if they are strong and solid the rest of the structure will be enhanced.

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